What's in a name?
by Moon Prynces
Summary: "Bodie," she gasped. And he grinned to himself at a job well done. Bodie wonders what it is exactly that makes her say his name when they're alone. Out in public it was always, "Yo B!" or "B, where you been?"


1-10-12

2am

Summary–"Bodie," she gasped. And he grinned to himself at a job well done. Bodie wonders what it is exactly that makes her say his name when they're alone. Out in public it was always, "Yo B!" or "B, where you been?"

**Disclaimer–I do not own Dance Central, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.**

**xoxo**

**Title–What's in a name?**

**By–Moon Prynces**

**xoxo**

He heard her gasp out quickly, as if unable to breathe and trying to catch her breath. It would have worried him except that a second later she moaned out, "Bo-odie."

And he grinned to himself at a job well done.

This was the only time she really spoke his name. Out in public it was always, "Yo B!" or "B, where you been?"

When he first noticed this magical power of getting her to say his name behind closed doors he was a little insulted. As if she couldn't be bothered to really acknowledge him out there in front of people. Or maybe she was putting up a show for everyone watching.

But then he realized it was just her way. She was so accustomed to him being her friend. And they weren't the touchy-feely, PDA type so their feelings didn't leak out into the daylight. She stayed friendly when they had an audience and got even friendlier when they didn't.

The first time it happened she had tried to bite it back, whimpering the broken syllables so low that he thought he'd done something wrong. It had been ages since she'd called him that.

But nothing was the matter except that they were still on the living room couch and both pretty much naked.

The next time she had whispered it quickly on an exhale and he'd paused a moment, his forehead resting on her torso and both of them breathing hard.

And once again, it wasn't her trying to call for his attention, only an unintentional release.

Sometimes he tried to catch her off guard at random moments when they were alone, just to see if she would moan his name after he snuck up from behind and put his mouth and tongue and teeth on her neck where he could feel her pulse pick up.

She didn't know about his little game, and he usually didn't care about the results anyway.

He wished he could say that he knew all the different ways she said it, but he couldn't. Every once in a while, as they were caught up in the primary objection, the one that caused this phenomenon... Every once in a while her voice, raw and emotional and beautiful, pronounced those five letters in a way that amazed him. Made him shudder with the intensity it carried, an intensity that she couldn't control or hold back even when she tried.

It was as gratifying as his hand sliding over her skin or her eyes fixing on his in a gaze he didn't think he'd ever seen on anyone.

But why'd it happen at all? The last time he remembered her using his actual name out loud was when they'd first met, years ago. Was there something erotic about saying a person's full name instead of their nickname in bed? Was that the way she really saw him in her head? As Bodie and not just "B"?

He was sitting in their living room, thinking this over with a very troubled expression when she burst through the door, covered in sweat and looking cheerful.

"Hey B, what're you up to?" she asked while heading to the refrigerator.

"Ah, nothing," he shook his head and stood up slowly, looking intimidating with his stature.

She just walked right over with a glass of water and placed a hand flat on his chest to push him back into sitting down before taking a seat next to him.

"What's goin' on?" And she took a sip as he thought for a second.

He swallowed thickly, seeming bashful – a quality he didn't possess. "Why do you say my name when we're...alone?" His pathetic attempt at a euphemism didn't need to be explained.

In fact, her eyes went wide and she choked on the water, hitting her chest and putting it down.

"I don't know. I-it just slips out, I guess," she responded, looking cornered and fearful and stumbling over her words while trying to spit them out quickly. "I mean," she slowed down, "Do you not want me to?"

He blinked and thought to himself there was no way he could ever get used to _not_ hearing it now. Maybe he shouldn't have asked. The mystery of it wasn't killing him.

"Nevermind," he shook his head and leaned over to kiss her briefly.

But obviously he'd disrupted their routine, because as she sat in his lap, both of them now covered in sweat and nothing else, with her hair falling all over the place...

She gasped out brokenly, "Bo–" before stopping herself, biting down on a finger and looking pained.

He ceased all action and pulled away from trailing kisses down her chest to stare at her, though they both seemed a bit dazed and high off their current activity.

"Why," he breathed out between breaths, looking distraught. "Why did you stop?"

He reached over to remove the digit from her mouth, seeming genuinely heartbroken that she hadn't finished saying his name.

Her mouth opened to offer some half-hearted explanation, but instead became stuck with no sound coming out, looking sad and scared. And he couldn't tell if those were tears at the corners of her eyes or just the sweat pooling there innocuously.

Finally, she tried to hide the expression by leaning in, looping her arms tightly around his neck in an embrace that he couldn't help but return, their skin sticking together.

He sighed, turning his face into her hair and neck and trying to figure out how to right this whole situation.

Until he felt the warmth of her breath on his ear, whispering a few words. Words that initially had him freezing in shock before tightening his hold.

And the next time he sighed it was with relief and elation and– and he laughed a bit hysterically just once at how obvious it all seemed now. He should have known!

She wouldn't have said his name, in all those ways he'd witnessed, for no real reason. Whispers and gasps, moans and mumbles – as if chanting something else entirely. She had never said anyone's name that way, he was sure.

It wasn't just a release, though still unintentional and slipping out when she was most vulnerable and unguarded and so willing to give someone – give _him_ – everything she had... It was an admission.

She _was_ saying something else when she said it; it meant something more.

And now he knew, and he knew why, and it was his turn. But he skipped feeling afraid and unsure and using something else as a safety net to avoid getting hurt.

So he pulled her away to examine her overly damp face while himself feeling optimistic and intoxicated and so happy there just couldn't be a word to describe it.

"Emilia," he breathed out with a wide smile as she looked at him.

And he told her exactly the words she had been trying to say for a while now, the words she had finally just spoken.

He was so glad he'd asked.

**xo end xo**

**6:18pm**

I won't lie. During the last run through (of rereading and editing) I cried. I hope you could feel the emotion I did as it came to that pinnacle. But then, I really get into things when I read, try to feel what the characters are feeling and immersing myself into the situation and drawing on emotions that I've felt to help me understand. It's why I'm so picky these days, so hard to read something I consider to be too poorly written.

Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think!

(few hours later)

After almost four hours I've finally come up with a title that fits perfectly! Honestly it's the only reason this fic didn't go up sooner.

9:59pm

I reread again for safety, added something and got teary-eyed again. XD

10:36pm


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